The British

In the 17th century, the British East India Company struggled to secure commercial monopoly on the West coast and regarded the growing power of Shivaji as a potential danger. Shivaji shrewdly guessed of British intentions of territorial acquisition under the guise of trade and commerce. But the Peshwas did not anticipate the opportunist British mentality; Peshwa Nanasahab invited them to crush the Angres of Kolaba in 1754. The Maratha thus dug their own grave. In the Madras Military consultations of April 17, 1770, it was recorded that, "It has always been allowed and that too with reason, that nothing can reduce the Maratha power but dissension among themselves, and it is fortunate for the other powers in Hindustan that the Maratha chiefs were always ready to take every advantage of each other."

The most successful British statesman in routing out Maratha power was Mountstuart Elphinstone, who occupied the office of Resident (Pune) in 1811. He slowly worked for the fall of the Marathas and when the third and final war broke out with them in 1817, Bajirao II finally submitted to the British on June 3, 1818, and the glory of the Maratha power vanished. Elphinstone then became the Commissioner of the territories conquered from the Peshwas in 1819 and later the Governor of Bombay. He laid the foundation of British administration in Maharashtra without introducing much innovation, completed the work of settlement, initiated an educational policy, and founded Sanskrit College (which later became Deccan College) with the Dakshina funds of the Peshwas.

Resistance to British Rule
The Marathas were never reconciled to the British Raj, and occasionally challenged its officers. In 1826, the Ramoshis of Pune district, under the leadership of Umaji Naik, revolted against the British, who subsequently compromised with them. The Ramoshis were absolved of their crimes, absorbed in government service and granted lands in inam. They revolted again. Umaji Naik was captured. Raghu Bhangra of Nasik, Ramji of Nagar and his associate, Govindrao Khare, the killedar of Ratnagiri, also resisted British rule. The Kolis of Pune and Nagar districts also organised themselves against the British. It is really surprising that these unlettered, unequipped residents of the hills had the courage to challenge the British long before intellectuals could start the freedom movement.

In the revolt of 1857, Maharashtra was not an active participant, though leaders such as Tatya Tope and Maharani Laxmibai of Jhansi were Maharashtrians.

In 1857, peasants of some parts of Pune, Satara and Nagar districts revolted against oppressive policies supported by the British, in the Deccan Riots. Vasudeo Balwant Phadke launched his violent compaign against British rule in 1879, aiming to establish an Indian republic by driving them out. However, his armed resistance failed and he was arrested and deported to Aden, where he passed away in 1883. Resentment against the British rule continued unabated and the Chaphekar brothers murdered Mr Rand and Lt Ayerst on Jubilee Night on June 22, 1897, in Pune. In his book, India of Yester Years, published in 1899, GW Stevens explains Maratha resistance to British rule: "Other provinces of India were ceded to us or conquered from alien lords, the Marathas lost all in war, ... The Marathas have never forgotten how high they were less than a hundred years ago, and who it was that brought them low. They lost more than others did and they feel the loss more. For others who were a change of masters; them we brought down from masters to slaves.... His empire, his nationality, his religion, his honour, his beautiful language - we have taken away his all."